


Thaw

by dmgcntrlvrgl



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, Alternate Universe - Skating, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pretty Setter Squad, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28659654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dmgcntrlvrgl/pseuds/dmgcntrlvrgl
Summary: After an injury that put his career on thin ice, Akaashi returns to the rink. He expects to train, to compete, and to win, but he could never have foreseen colliding with Bokuto.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Kozume Kenma, Akaashi Keiji & Oikawa Tooru, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Bokuto Koutarou & Hinata Shouyou & Miya Atsumu & Sakusa Kiyoomi, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, established - Relationship
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26





	1. Step Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting goes about as smoothly as a skate over gravel.

The cold crept under his skin, seeping into Akaashi’s bones like tea steeping in ice water. He gave his laces a few more tugs to make sure they were snug, pivoting his foot on the blade of his skate to make sure they were secure. He took in a deep breath, then stepped out onto the ice with one hand on the railing. The rink had always been a place of comfort for him- Akaashi could just plug in his ear buds and, after a few warm up laps, it was just him and the ice.

The melody of Czardas went straight from his ears to his body. A drawn out, melancholy note would have signalled his entry into a double axel, but he instead gave a small hop and kept skating. Rushing into difficult maneuvers after three months off the ice would only worsen his recently healed broken ankle. Instead, he focused on the feeling of finally, finally, skating again. Frigid air rushed over his face and whistled past his ears as he flew around the rink. He did a few turns, pivoting on the edges of his skates as he danced around the length of the ice.

Akaashi had just turned around to skate forward again when he ran straight into a solid wall right by the entrance to the rink. His brows furrowed in confusion. He had never fallen like that before. Whenever he did fall, Akaashi had put in enough hours of practice to instinctively fall on his side. He stared up at the ceiling far above for a moment, the cold leaching warmth from his back, only to realize it was face he was staring at and not the ceiling at all. A very handsome face, at that. The man was built like a brick house. No wonder Akaashi had been so flatly stopped in his tracks. The man’s hair was a mess of black and white gelled into spikes, face drawn together in what Akaashi could only describe as a healthy mix of horror and concern.

His eyes were what really caught Akaashi’s attention, though; they were a brilliant shade of gold, almost like they were sucking in all the light in the building.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Akaashi glanced down at the man’s skates- a hockey player, evidently, then the name on his black jersey- as he rolled over onto his knees. _Bokuto_. The guy seemed genuinely sorry, anyway, so Akaashi took the hand that was being extended to him, cheeks pink (he told himself it was from the cold). “I just hopped onto the ice and I didn’t see you coming! Holy shit- are you okay?”  
  
 _His voice is very loud,_ Akaashi thought to himself.

There was a feeling digging in under his skin- Akaashi couldn’t quite place it, but he bet that it was annoyance. “I’m fine, Bokuto-san. I should have been looking where I was going.” He dusted the ice off his pants. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m all good. You’re kinda small compared to me, no offense. The guys and I roughhouse all the time.” Ah, right. Bokuto was a hockey player, after all, so it was no surprise he was unbothered by Akaashi skating into him. “Honestly, I didn’t think figure skaters could get hurt.”

Akaashi’s hands stilled against his jacket. The wrapping still around his ankle begged to differ. He frowned and looked up at the hockey player. “I’m sorry, what do you mean?”

Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck. “It doesn’t seem like much of a sport, y’know? Like, sure, it’s pretty, but it’s not hockey. It just doesn’t seem super difficult.”

“Ah.” Akaashi started fiddling with his fingers, his lip caught between his teeth. The feeling of annoyance crept back, and he started picking at the skin around his nails. He had dedicated practically his whole life to this sport, waking up before the sun rose every morning, hours upon hours spent skating and reviewing videos and finetuning his movements until they were almost perfect, and it still hadn’t been enough. To have all of that so easily dismissed out of hand was like being slapped across the face.

Bokuto’s head slightly cocked to one side, his eyes a little wider- the hockey player looked like he realized he had said something hurtful, but wasn’t sure why it was hurtful. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I can see why you would think figure skating is easy, but your opinion may be a bit… uninformed. If you think it’s so easy, why don’t you try it? I’ll be practicing here tomorrow at ten in the morning, if you’d like to join me.”

“Like a competition?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Akaashi straightened up and took his phone out. “I win if I get you to admit that figure skating is hard. You win if you still think it’s easy by the time we’re done. How does that sound?”  
  
“Ha! I’ll win for sure.” Bokuto smiled innocently, his eyes overtaken by a blinding grin. “Let me get your phone number, then. I wouldn’t want you chickening out on me last minute.”  
  
They had just exchanged contact information when a scandalized gasp came from off the ice. Akaashi sighed in exasperation and turned to his teammate-turned-coach. The man’s chestnut hair was perfectly coiffed, and his skate guards were color coordinated with his jacket. 

“Oikawa-san. It’s nice to see you a-”

Oikawa crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned over the railing, his lip jutting out in a disappointed pout like he was a child about to scold a slightly younger child. “Don’t you _’Oikawa-san’_ me, Keiji-chan. You know you’re not supposed to be on the ice until Saturday. Doctor’s orders.”

“Why do you remember what my doctor told me?”  
  
“How could I not? I’ve been waiting _forever_ for you to recover and join me again. it's getting a bit boring teaching kids the same swizzles over and over again. Besides, that last thing I would want is for you to get hurt again and have to take more time off. Who’s this?” He jerked his thumb toward the hockey player.

“I’m Bokuto Koutaro!” He gave a quick wave to Oikawa. “Nice to meet you. I’m a forward for the MSBY Jackals.”  
  
Oikawa wiggled his brows. “Ooh, a hockey player. I don’t suppose you and Keiji-chan here were going to be partners without telling me, were you?”

Bokuto laughed and, if they hadn’t met the way they did, Akaashi might have thought it was cute. As it was, though, he didn’t have room for anything but annoyance. “Nah, that’s not really my thing. I’m not into figure skating. Hockey’s way harder and more interesting than dancing on-”

“Which is _why_ ,” Akaashi cut in, “I’m going to meet Bokuto-san here tomorrow. I’ll be trying to change his mind about how easy figure skating is.”

“Is there a prize?”

“Huh?” Bokuto and Akaashi said at the same time, and Oikawa snorted.

“A prize. Whoever wins should get something, not just a pat on the back. Like… Like paying for lunch!”

“No.”  
  
“Or coffee, whatever floats your boat.”  
  
That didn’t sound too bad, actually. Akaashi could do with some coffee, and he was certain Bokuto would change his mind. There was only reward and no risk for him. There was, however, a strange look in Oikawa's eye that almost made him want to decline. Akaashi had learned to read the Oikawa since the start of their friendship, though it was still difficult to ever know what he was really thinking. Oikawa was scrutinizing him and Bokuto the same way he would a difficult jump he knew Akaashi was bound to fail. “I like that idea.”  
  
Bokuto nodded. “Coffee sounds good! I’m totally going to win, though, so I hope you’re ready to pay up.”

“And I-" Oikawa grinned, placing a hand over his chest- "Will be here to judge. Completely neutral, of course.”

Akaashi sighed, his shoulders sagging as he stepped off the ice and sat down to undo his laces. It felt like all the weight returned to his body, but he managed to flash a smile back at Bokuto before pushing his earbuds back in, letting the music drown out everything else once more. “Fine by me. I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. Forward Two-Foot Glide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa's got a plan >:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter chapter, so I apologize, but it felt important to me to build on Oikawa and Akaashi's friendship. I want it to feel real, y'know? If your friends don't constantly annoy you what is even the point tbh? Sidenote thanks for helping me sort through my ideas, Leo. You're the best.

“Damn it,” Akaashi sighed as he jiggled the doorknob. He glanced through the small gap between the door and the frame, catching sight of brown cardboard on the floor. One of the boxes must have fallen over while he had been at the rink. He grabbed one of his skate guards from the bag on his shoulder, sliding it into the gap and poking at the box until it moved enough for the door to fully open. 

The interior of the studio apartment was nothing to gawk at, certainly not worth the effort it had taken to get inside. Most of it was hidden under the few boxes Akaashi had packed. There was a simple wooden floor and, even though some of the varnish was beginning to peel, Akaashi still toed his shoes off at the door. A small succulent that he had received as a housewarming gift from his mother sat on the sill. There were two bar stools at the kitchen counter in lieu of a proper table. There was a single window on the far side of the room above his bed. It wasn’t much of a view- the only thing to see was the train yard and tracks that stretched on for miles and miles- but Akaashi loved it all the same. If he woke up early enough, he could see the sun rising. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket just as Akaashi shut the door. Oikawa’s name (saved as ‘Best Friend <3’ when he hadn’t been looking) flashed on the screen when he pulled it out. Akaashi wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder, tossing his keys into the untouched platter of fruit on the kitchen counter. He crouched down to pull a container of rice from the cabinet and began measuring out a portion into the rice cooker. 

“You just saw me at the rink.”

“Oh, so you’re not gonna let me ask if you made it home alright?”

“I picked up, didn’t I? Oikawa-san, you don’t have to worry about me so much. Nothing happened.”

“Keiji.” 

Oikawa’s voice was measured, Akaashi’s name sinking like a stone in a lake even through the phone. His hands stilled where they had been rinsing out the rice in the pot. 

“You know why I ask.”

“I know. I apologize.” He blew a breath out through his nose. “I’m really fine, though. There was a box stuck against the door. For someone who volunteered to help me move in, you did a terrible job of it.”

Akaashi could almost hear the eye-roll from the other end.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just let me fuss over you, okay?”

“‘ _Fuss’,_ ” Akaashi chuckled under his breath. Oikawa was the only he knew who would say something like that. “Fine. Is there anything else, or can I cook in peace now?”

“In fact, there is: I _may_ have told a couple of friends that you’re meeting up with that Bokuto guy tomorrow, and they may or may not want to spectate.” Akaashi put Oikawa on speaker and set the phone on the counter. “I thought it would be a good opportunity for you to network, mingle, socialize, whatever you call it, since you’re new in town.”

Akaashi placed the pot of rice in the cooker, then put a frying pan on the stove. “Just because you’re coaching me now doesn’t mean you have to be my public relationship representative, too.”

“But of course! It’s all included in the Tooru-as-a-best-friend package. It’s what you signed up for, so it’s really your fault you didn’t read the terms and conditions.” 

Akaashi would never admit it, but Oikawa’s headstrong and stubborn insistence at friendship was probably the only reason he was still skating at all. The man had seen him through more than one crisis since they had started working together, first as his teammate and now as his coach, and Akaashi could complain all day but he could never push Oikawa away. He shook his head with a smile even though Oikawa couldn’t see it.

“I don’t remember signing any contract. Who are these friends of yours, anyway?” 

“Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsuro. Kenma was a pairs skater before, but he’s in singles now. I've known them for a long time, but they've known each other even longer. I think they grew up living next to each other- they probably have a psychic connection or something like that. Kuroo's family manages the rink, by the way, and he's your Bokuto-san's best buddy. ”

“He’s not mine, Oikawa-san,” Akaashi corrected, cracking an egg into the pan.

“He _could be_ if you win tomorrow. _Mwah-_ remember to do your stretches!”

The shells in Akaashi’s hands slipped into the already cooking egg. The rice cooker chimed at the same time. “Shit. Wait, Oikawa-san, what does that even-”

“Love you, bye!”

The line went dead. Not knowing whether to laugh or groan, Akaashi turned off the stove and picked out what bits of eggshell he could see. He tossed them into the trash, washing his hands before scooping rice into a bowl and laying the egg on top of it, then sitting on a bar stool at the counter. A missed bit of eggshell crunched in his teeth. Akaashi decided to swallow it and laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to hydrate, y'all <3, I say as I drink my second cup of coffee


End file.
